Chapter 109: The Ruthless Overwhelming Hand

The moment his gaze swept over, Bian Yanshan, standing beside Fang Keyin, released the aura of a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator. His razor-sharp divine sense pierced toward Zisang Yanqi like a blade.

Zisang Yanqi’s expression changed drastically, and his body involuntarily retreated two steps. Panic had already seized his heart. What should he do? Should he flee? The icy, bone-chilling pressure of a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator’s divine sense left him utterly flustered. Cold seeped through his entire body, and his scalp prickled with numbness.

He could not remember how many years it had been since he had felt such overwhelming terror. Yet today, in Pingdu City, he once again sensed the threat of death.

Bian Yanshan’s late-Nascent-Soul aura was released and withdrawn in an instant, his expression swiftly returning to normal. Everyone present had been drawn to the changes in Zisang Yanqi’s face and had paid no attention to what had happened on Bian Yanshan’s side.

As the oppressive aura vanished, Zisang Yanqi secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Yet he said nothing more, staring blankly at Liu Junhuai without the slightest reaction.

Liu Junhuai smiled. “It seems this senior has been shaken by the murderous aura of a mere junior like me. Since that is the case, there is no need to trouble him. I shall see whether anyone else is willing to accept the challenge.”

As he spoke, Liu Junhuai’s gaze swept toward Fu Chengyun, a mid-stage Golden Core cultivator mingling among the crowd. He pointed at him and said, “It will be you. You were eager to accept the challenge earlier. It is getting late, so come on. Let me see what you are capable of.”

Fu Chengyun was a simple-minded man. Liu Junhuai’s mockery left him unable to keep his composure, and fury clouded his reason. The plan Zisang Yanqi had arranged for him was completely forgotten.

Liu Junhuai had deliberately chosen him because he knew Fu Chengyun was reckless. When Fu Chengyun charged forward without hesitation, Liu Junhuai instead put away the Ghost-Eye Blood Saber.

He activated the Nine Transformations Mental Cultivation Method. A brilliant golden radiance faintly emerged from his body, and amid a long howl that pierced the heavens, a First Transformation Shattered Blade burst forth.

Fu Chengyun was rushing forward at tremendous speed. When he saw a huge stream of force surging toward him from the flashing golden light, he hurriedly slowed his pace and concentrated his true essence throughout his body. As Liu Junhuai’s cutting force reached him, a flash of golden light also swept across his body, and the Golden Bell Shield activated around him.

A thunderous collision rang out. The golden protective radiance around Fu Chengyun dimmed for a moment before once again flowing smoothly. The First Transformation Shattered Blade had been kept outside his body.

Liu Junhuai was astonished. He reminded himself that he must never underestimate the cultivators of the world. None of them had earned their reputations without reason. The golden protective light around this man was itself an extraordinary technique.

Fu Chengyun’s mind had cleared by now. Seeing that the Golden Bell Shield had succeeded, his confidence in victory soared. His aura abruptly intensified, and he flung the flying sword in his hand into the air. It spun rapidly overhead, and suddenly countless white sword-rays burst from it, shooting straight toward Liu Junhuai.

Liu Junhuai swiftly cast the Purple Flame Wave-Blade Treasure Tome. With a ringing metallic sound, the tome released a streak of purple light. It sounded like a divine sword leaving its sheath, and in midair the radiance transformed into a massive sun that spun without cease. As it revolved, the purple light formed rippling layers like overlapping waves, blocking all the white sword-rays from the flying sword.

Amid sharp hissing sounds, the purple radiance shredded the white sword-rays. Then the layered waves of purple light continued advancing, swift as lightning.

The first wave of purple light struck Fu Chengyun’s Golden Bell Shield. The golden radiance protecting him instantly flared brilliantly, resisting the invasion of the purple light, but immediately afterward it dimmed for a moment.

Then the second and third waves surged forward in succession. At last, Fu Chengyun’s Golden Bell Shield could withstand no more. As a cracking sound rang out, the advancing waves of light tore his body apart and reduced it to fragments. Liu Junhuai’s hands were swift; he quickly collected Fu Chengyun’s storage ring.

Although the clash between the magical treasures had lasted only a short while, the interweaving of dazzling white, purple, and golden light was breathtakingly beautiful. The surrounding spectators were enthralled, and cheers rose one after another.

Within the Bloodslaughter Alliance’s ranks, however, there was utter silence. Liu Junhuai had consecutively slain two of their Golden Core cultivators, while Deputy Alliance Leader Zisang Yanqi merely watched in cold silence without saying a word. The crowd’s dissatisfaction gradually intensified. Murmurs of discontent spread among them, carried outward by the cheers of the spectators.

Hearing the countless low voices of criticism around him and seeing his father’s inaction, Zisang Yanqi’s son, Zisang Shangpin, was consumed by anger and shame. His courage surged skyward. With an enraged roar, he leapt over the heads of the crowd and landed before Liu Junhuai.

Zisang Yanqi was horrified. He hurriedly shouted a furious rebuke, trying to stop him. This only intensified the Bloodslaughter Alliance’s resentment. Several mid- and late-stage Golden Core cultivators stepped forward, preparing to demand an explanation.

At that moment, Zisang Yanqi seemed already to see the scene of his own son’s death. Overcome by terror, he too leapt into the martial arena.

Xiao Qingtian, who had been hiding in the shadows, had already witnessed Bian Yanshan’s astonishing aura. Seeing the opposing commander enter the arena, he no longer felt any fear. After releasing a long howl, he flew toward Zisang Yanqi.

With yet another Nascent Soul cultivator appearing, the last threads of Zisang Yanqi’s reason began to unravel. His own son was still hovering on the brink of death. His eyes turned blood-red, and pain, fury, and helplessness twisted together in his complicated gaze.

Xiao Qingtian’s appearance also alerted the cultivators of the Sect Alliance concealed among the surrounding crowd. Realizing that their leader had issued the signal to attack, they flashed out from their hiding places one after another.

In an instant, nearly a hundred figures appeared in the previously empty martial arena. The spectators had no idea what was happening, and discussion erupted all around them.

The Bloodslaughter Alliance reacted just as quickly. Seventy or eighty figures also entered the arena.

For a moment, both the people within the arena and the surrounding spectators fell silent. A heavy killing intent began spreading outward from the martial arena, while a terrifying and savage aura of death slowly rose into the air.

The situation was gradually slipping out of control. Having suffered two humiliations at Liu Junhuai’s hands, the Bloodslaughter Alliance cultivators were already itching for action. Their true essence erupted in unison, surging and circling above the arena. The vast pressure forced the spectators nearly to their knees.

The martial arena had become a gigantic powder keg. A single spark could instantly ignite the tremendous destructive power waiting to explode.

Zisang Shangpin, who had been the first to leap into the arena, looked around in horror. He had never imagined that a moment of impulsiveness would bring about such a terrifying change in the situation.

Liu Junhuai, however, was secretly delighted. Yet he did not want to be the one to ignite the fuse of this powder keg, for that would place him directly at the center of the storm.

Sensing the pressure growing heavier by the moment, Liu Junhuai had a sudden inspiration. He drew out a thread of golden heavenly sense and abruptly directed it toward Zisang Shangpin with the Severing Technique.

The cutting force approached Zisang Shangpin silently. Then it suddenly erupted before him.

Zisang Shangpin, whose entire body was tense, sensed the impending danger. In his panic, he twisted around and avoided the force aimed at his chest, but his right arm was struck squarely. With a sharp tearing sound, the entire arm was severed cleanly and fell to the ground.

As Zisang Shangpin let out a scream of terror, every taut nerve within the martial arena snapped at once, and a great battle suddenly erupted!

The first to react was Zisang Yanqi. Witnessing his son’s arm being severed, he released a howl of grief and fury and shot toward him.

The moment Zisang Yanqi moved, Xiao Qingtian rose with him. His figure transformed into a bolt of lightning as he sped toward Zisang Yanqi.

In an instant, both sides joined the battle. Weapons and magical treasures filled the air, while collisions between streams of true essence and splattering flesh turned the martial arena into a sea of slaughter.

The surrounding spectators were caught in the carnage, and flesh flew through the air. People scattered in panic, while extreme terror spread across half of Pingdu City.

The moment Liu Junhuai moved, several Bloodslaughter Alliance cultivators had already surrounded him. Under Gonghu Changkong’s leadership, he immediately found himself trapped.

Liu Junhuai activated his teleportation ability, and his figure vanished from the spot. Before the Bloodslaughter Alliance cultivators had time even to exchange bewildered glances, a mid-stage Golden Core cultivator was pierced through the chest by the Five-Element Chaos Blade behind him.

The others had only just caught sight of Liu Junhuai and were rushing forward when his figure abruptly disappeared again. When he reappeared, the head of another mid-stage Golden Core cultivator had already been severed and fallen to the ground.

Vanishing, flashing into existence, and killing in rapid succession, Liu Junhuai did not forget to collect the storage rings left behind.

The deaths of several men in succession instead awakened the Bloodslaughter Alliance cultivators’ savage bloodlust. More and more joined the assault. In their eyes, Liu Junhuai was the chief culprit, and killing him became everyone’s foremost objective.

Gonghu Changkong charged forward, swinging two red-copper warhammers in turn. Dense layers of force transformed into an iron wall of radiance that enclosed Liu Junhuai.

Liu Junhuai remained calm. His body rose into the air as his hands rapidly formed the seals and incantations for the Conversion Technique. The violent energy within him surged into motion, and searing purple-red flames raced into his palms. A purple-red hand seal then appeared above them.

Dodging several attacks that came from below, the purple-red hand seal transformed into a giant hand that blotted out the sky. With a resounding boom, it struck downward.

At once, countless specks of flame mixed with purple radiance rushed toward the Bloodslaughter Alliance cultivators below.

A succession of wet impacts rang out. Four men beneath him were smashed into meat patties by the Sky-Covering Seal, then swiftly consumed by Azhu’s purple flames. A charred stench mingled with the reek of blood and spread in every direction.

The purple flames ignited the moment they touched flesh, and the Bloodslaughter Alliance cultivators scattered in all directions.

Liu Junhuai raised the Sky-Covering Seal once more and, following the descent of his body, sent it crashing toward the enemy.

The terrifying Celestial Lotus Heartfire wantonly incinerated every defensive and protective technique. The giant hand, charged with violent energy and carrying the might of a mountain, plunged downward. Several people beneath its palm were once again crushed into heaps of flesh.

The Bloodslaughter Alliance cultivators were horrified. They turned and fled desperately in every direction.

Among the dead was even a mid-stage Golden Core cultivator like Gonghu Changkong, who had been unable to escape either the burning purple flames or the crushing reach of the Sky-Covering Seal.